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Madagascar Rivals Meet, but Reach No Deal

Madagascar's two rival leaders, meeting face to face for the first time since April, failed to reach an agreement here today, but a team of African presidents produced a proposal to ease a post-election power struggle between the two.

The two rivals, Marc Ravalomanana and Didier Ratsiraka, took part in a meeting organized by African heads of state, who are under pressure to end strife so the continent can begin an ambitious development plan that would be financed by large amounts of international aid.

Madagascar is split between Mr. Ravalomanana, a millionaire who was sworn in as president on May 6, and Mr. Ratsiraka, the former admiral who ruled the island of 16 million people for more than two decades.

Mr. Ravalomanana was declared the winner of disputed December elections by a court in April after a recount agreed upon by the two men at previous talks in Senegal. But Mr. Ratsiraka called the court biased, and he refused to step down.

Senegal's foreign minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, announced late today that the meeting had ended, but officials said neither of the rivals had signed up for a proposal put forward by the team of five presidents.

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''They propose to the protagonists of the Madagascan crisis the organization of parliamentary elections before the end of the year,'' the proposal said, but it was unclear which of the men it recognized as president.

The African leaders recommended that Mr. Ravalomanana name a transition prime minister and that key government posts be shared out between the two camps. That proposal will now go forward for consideration by the Organization of African Unity, officials said.

Mr. Ravalomanana controls the capital, Antananarivo, and a province in the southeast of the island, which is the size of Spain and Portugal combined. Mr. Ratsiraka retains the loyalty of governors in the remaining four provinces.

The crisis, which started in January with mass rallies in the capital in favor of Mr. Ravalomanana, has degenerated into an increasingly violent confrontation, and at least 60 people have been reported killed in sporadic clashes.